Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Friday, February 20, 2009

THESE VISUAL DELIGHTS JUST IN!!





"Dockside Reflections" acrylic on canvas by Jeffrey C. Sabol, ASMA



"Aggressive Tack" oil on linen by Louis Guarnaccia



"Afternoon Delight" oil on canvas by Andrea Wiley

Monday, February 16, 2009

A Valentine's Day to Remember!


A Special Thank You to all the Jewelry Designers


who participated in


"BeJeweled"



Stay Tuned for the next Jewelry Event this Spring!









Tuesday, February 10, 2009

A FABULOUS FEBRUARY WEEKEND...

It began Friday, Feb. 6,
with Katia Jirankova Levanti's Opening Reception for "Fantastic Journey "







Rob, Katia & Daniel






Katia & guests
--------------------
Continued Saturday, Feb. 7 with a Lively
Valentines Make + Take Workshop
with artist Patrice Nelson










----------------------
Capped off nicely Sunday, Feb. 8 with "BeJeweled"
- A spectacular array of area jewelry designers....
Not without a little champagne and chocolate for added sweetness.













Amy












Eileen, Dina & MaryPat

KC & Lisa
------------------------
Be sure to join us again on Valentines Day
(Saturday, Feb. 14)
for the Encore of "BeJeweled"12-5pm
featuring Amy Leiner, Alegria, Eileen Clark,
Eamon Ellery, Tracye Mueller,
Tricia Hamel, Dina Varano, BSK Designs,
Lisa Fatone and Carol Russell




















ESSEX NATIVE JAMIE
SPOONER JOINS LEFT BANK GALLERY

With a successful career in the digital arts, Jamie brings from the West Coast a bright fresh perspective on those beloved creatures we call dogs…Animals, especially dogs, are loving creatures that present unconditional love to their masters. In an age of online dating, shopping and bill paying there is a growing disconnectedness in the world. People don’t interact as much with people as they do computers. And yet there is a yearning for connection. My work presents the larger than life panting, smiling, grinning and loyal companion that never disappoints us. Dogs in particular are heroes because on some level they save us. Their soulful eyes reach out of the canvas and catch their viewer’s eyes. There is love and connection through a giant canine’s eyes. Enjoy!
right: "Nacho Ned"; acrylic

ABOUT JAMIE SPOONER:
My development as a painter comes from over twenty years as an Illustrator, Graphic Designer, Art Director, Creative Director and business owner for a Technology and Marketing company. Planeteria, Inc. produces corporate identity and Web site solutions for large and small organizations across the United States.After graduating from Smith College with a B.A. in Studio Art, I taught Art and Photography in Switzerland. In 1994 I moved into a digital world with my creative skills. I relocated to Seattle and designed the second Web site for Microsoft Corporation. As a Lead Design Program Manager at Microsoft I designed the Web site for Windows 98 as well as another thirty or more sites for Microsoft.
My roots are in Essex, Connecticut.
My great grandfather is Judge Thomas Coulter who resided on Main Street in Essex from the late 1800s to 1952. Judge Coulter was town clerk and judge of probate until 1952. My parents have been married 56 years and still live in the same family home, now in the family 120 years. When I was 6 years old I started drawings animals and selling them on Main Street. Although I majored in Studio Art I took a commercial route and recently have returned to illustration through acrylic painting. I started painting in acrylic and latex 3 years ago. Painting is a passion for me, as it is for my mother and sisters alike.
I also have a deep love of animals and people. My work reflects my ongoing interest in people, animals and the psychology and play between them.
My inspiration for composition comes loosely from pop artists like Warhol and Liechtenstein who presented reality in a bold way with vibrant colors. I generally paint oversized canvases with larger than life figures of people and animals. I turn these subjects into caricatures. In the animal-related themes, my animals are typically lovers and heroes and in the people-related themes my people are typically flawed, human and real.


Jamie’s work is tinged with humor and fun. She says, “I paint big and I paint with bold colors to make a statement. It is about connection and in some cases lack of connection. I also love painting people and animals as subjects because they have so much life, personality and soul. Every person is different and every dog has its own day. In the last 10 years I’ve rescued two dogs from the Humane Society. For any painting sold in 2008, I will donate 10% of the profit to the Humane Society of Sonoma County. Don’t forget to check the events page for shows and exhibits.”

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Getting acquainted with artist Gere Gallagher


Co-owner Laurie McGinley
converses with
artist Gere Gallagher....
"I work with the figure to create an environment. She is in everyday situations, sometimes urban, sometimes local.
Protected at times by the shield of an umbrella, to think, to ponder, or to pause at being in the moment. The color and application of paint reveals the process which I hope coincides with the essence of my meaning. These are invented paintings, not intended to be portraits, but the gestures and movements are inspired by my muse." -Gere Gallagher











"Striped Bag"
















"Girl in the Pink Scarf"



"Fire Island"










"The Red Maillot"





"the things we do
4 LOVE"

Celebrate St.Valentine with us!

Sat., Feb. 7, 2-4 PM:

Make & Take Valentine Workshop

with artist Patrice Nelson


Sun., Feb. 8 & Sat., Feb. 14, 12-4PM:
BeJeweled!
A Very Special Event -not to be missed- Featuring creations by area jewelry artisans created with all Valentines in mind!


"Fantastic Journey"

An Illustrative Story by

Katia Jirankova Levanti

Through February 28

OPENING RECEPTION
FRIDAY, FEB. 6, 6-8PM


A Czech artist now residing between Waterford and Prague, was born to a Russian mother and Czech father. Her childhood was marked by flights to Moscow to visit her maternal grandmother, a famous actress from Stanislavsky's legendary theater. Though they were cautious not to flaunt their Russian in public, her and her mother, Lena, always felt most at home in their mother tongue. But in Prague the atmosphere was icy. Vaclav Havel was still musing a long way from his presidency of the 90's, and Katia's father's artistic genius was gaining him no friends in the communist ranks. He was a political, satirical cartoonist who was more than once prohibited from working and forced to live off the small income of Lena's translations alone. Some of the most progressive minds in the country would congregate in Katia's childhood home, well aware of the bugs planted in the walls by the secret police, and aware of a privacy relegated solely to thoughts expressed below a whisper amongst themselves, or through the most cunning means (Such as through children's cartoons, which her father also became famous for). These comrades would later become Havel's minister of foreign affairs, another the prime minister, and her father was honored by the president himself as a foremost prominent figure of Czech culture. These were the environs which molded Katia's artistic ambitions and memories. She studied Philosophy and linguistics at Prague's Charles University and Universita per Stranieri, Perugia, Italy and later with the great Boris Jirku, then Professor at the Praque's prestigious Art Conservatory. The meditative, trance-like state from which her work comes is the birth ground of epiphany itself and Katia brings forth her visions of a world even more secretive and unknown than those magical streets of her Prague childhood.